There was a huge line-up for dog-loving kids and adults wanting to participate in the third year of the Canine Library, a community literacy event hosted on Saturday afternoon, September 9 by the VPL in collaboration with the St. John’s Ambulance BC/Yukon, Paws 4 Stories, and Trout Lake Community Centre. The VPL’s Programming and Learning Event Coordinator, Candie Tanaka, did a fabulous job organizing a range of engaging activities for the public.
People could book a ten-minute session with one of the 20 St. John’s Ambulance therapy dogs and their caretakers who waited to greet them in tents along the path behind the community centre. Each tent had an assortment of dog-themed poetry and fiction books that participants could choose from to read to their selected dog.
There were storytelling sessions for kids led by Sadie Tucker (who offers regular storytelling sessions at the VPL) along with colouring sheets and books galore to read. There were also free “doga” sessions for those wishing to do yoga with or without their dogs.
I was pleased to be invited to run a dog poetry tent again this year. The VPL helped me set up a display of published dog-themed poems to engage passers-by. It was great to see people reading and taking photos of the poems on display. Local poets Alex Leslie, Aislinn Hunter, Billeh Nickerson and others had suggested a number of excellent poems last year which augmented my list. There are so many wonderful published dog poems out there. Clearly, a dog can serve as a poetic muse! Our table included a list of dog-themed books for all ages, as well as dog poetry worksheets.
Several people came over to chat, curious about the process of writing a poem. I held a few informal workshops with a few groups of participants, reading aloud a few sample dog poems and offering tips and encouragement as they attempted to create their own dog-themed poems. I very much enjoyed listening to each participant’s work. Participants who courageously tried to write poems included a journalist exploring opportunities to expand into creative writing, two dog-loving kids with their dog-leery parents, and an expert on classical Chinese poetry. One intrepid fellow, Ben Sigerson, wrote three in one sitting—all rhyming!
Do check out these and other dog poems, whether they are in library books or on the internet (see my list of links from last year’s Canine Library), or support an independent bookstore and poet by buying any of the books on the above lists. You might very well be inspired to write a dog poem yourself, either about a dog or even as a dog, channelling a dog’s persona and point of view! Poetry is a portal!
Fiona Tinwei Lam 